Tar Heels are on the way

North Carolina will visit UE on Dec. 8

Gerry Broome / Associated Press archives
North Carolina's Tyler Zeller (44) will be playing close to home on Dec. 8 when the Washington, Ind., native takes on the University of Evansville at Roberts Stadium.

EVANSVILLE - Growing up an Indiana University basketball fan, the University of Evansville's Colt Ryan remembers watching the Hoosiers play North Carolina during the 2001-2002 season — when Jared Jeffries and company went on to the Final Four.

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<IF YOU GO>University of Evansville basketball season tickets are on sale at Carson Center and by calling 812-488-ACES beginning at 8:30 a.m. today. Single-game tickets will be available closer to the start of the season.</IF YOU GO>

"The year that IU upset them was pretty big," the Aces sophomore guard said. "I remember that."

Now Ryan would like to make a memory of his own by upsetting the Tar Heels, and he has a date in mind; Officials announced UE will host North Carolina on Wednesday, Dec. 8, at Roberts Stadium in the second in a series of three games between the schools including at UNC in 2008 and 2011.

"It's a great opportunity for us to play against such a great caliber team and such a great caliber coach," Ryan added of the Tar Heels and Roy Williams. "Year in and year out they're contending for the title."

Almost as often, Williams has traditionally attempted to give his upperclassmen a chance to play near their hometowns. Junior Tyler Zeller is from Washington, Ind., and averaged 9.3 points and 4.7 rebounds for North Carolina last season. He is playing for the USA Men's Select team training against the US National Team and could not be reached for comment.

Aces coach Marty Simmons thought that Monday's announcement — which drew upwards of 300 fans to the Ridgway Center on UE's campus — spoke volumes of the support his team is receiving months away from the start of the season.

"It's very exciting," he said. "That's what Evansville's all about, it's terrific. To be able to bring an elite team like that to the Tri-State for our fans and the surrounding fans is also a great measuring stick. When we went out there two years ago, we felt like we learned a lot. We got beat, but we felt like it gave us a lot of confidence for the remainder of the season, and we look for the same kind of thing this year."

That game, won 91-73 by the Tar Heels on Dec. 18, 2008, was on national television. UE athletic director John Stanley said this year's rematch is a special occasion in that it gives Aces fans a chance to watch the two teams in person.

"I don't know that I really know the answer," Stanley said when asked about how many fans might be expected (season tickets are on sale beginning at 8:30 this morning with renewals to be sent out in the next few weeks and single-game tickets on sale later this fall), "but I would be hopeful that we would fill most of the stadium. I think it's a great opportunity to see a school that's represented so many years of great basketball, so watching the hometown team get a chance to play a top-notch program and top-notch players ... is nice for anybody that's a fan of basketball."

Including the Aces themselves. "Most kids grow up wanting to go to North Carolina," Simmons said, "and then when you can't go there you want to play against them. There's not a player on our team that's not excited about that opportunity."

The opportunity, that is, for an upset of an ACC power. And that has Ryan and his teammates circling Dec. 8 on their calendars.

"I don't think that's a game we're going to need to get our spirits up for," Ryan said. "We'll be ready for everybody, but playing somebody with those names gets the blood flowing a little bit."